Between The Lego Movie and Transformers, it’s crazy we haven’t gotten a feature film about the most famous toy in the world: Barbie. Sure, there are a number of animated movies and series, but no one’s yet tapped the box office potential of bringing Barbie to life…unless you count Life-Size, which I kind of do.
But finally, Barbie is gearing up to hit the big screen. Here’s everything we know about the upcoming picture:
Gerwig and her partner, Noah Baumbach, have been attached to the project as coscreenwriters since 2019, but Variety confirmed in July 2021 that Gerwig will also direct.
“It comes with a lot of baggage!” Robbie told British Vogue in June 2021. “And a lot of nostalgic connections. But with that comes a lot of exciting ways to attack it. People generally hear ‘Barbie’ and think, I know what that movie is going to be, and then they hear that Greta Gerwig is writing and directing it, and they’re like, Oh, well, maybe I don’t….”
Here’s our first look at Robbie as Barbie:
Jaap Buitendijk/Warner Bros.
Deadline broke the news of his casting on October 22, 2021. On June 15, Warner Bros. shared the first look at Gosling’s bleach blonde Ken. Just look at that fake Calvin Klein “Ken” underwear!
Jaap Buitendijk
But they’re not the only ones.
As Kyle Buchanan of The New York Times originally reported, the Barbie movie will feature multiple Barbies and Kens. Hari Nef (You, And Just Like That…) will play a fabulous doctor Barbie, while Dua Lipa will play a mermaid Barbie. Nicola Coughlin of Derry Girls will play a diplomat Barbie, and Issa Rae will play a Barbie president. The Kens will include Simu Liu and Sex Education‘s Ncuti Gatwa, among others.
